A fair path to rights

Fianna Fáil wants to create a republic which is founded on the equality and dignity of every citizen. Working towards full equality is one of our Party’s core values.

2018 marked the 25th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland. The decriminalisation was pioneered by the then Fianna Fáil Minister for Justice, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.

The last 25 years have witnessed immense progress in the advancement of the equality agenda for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The civil partnership bill was introduced by Fianna Fáil in 2010 was a major frontier in the recognition of loving same-sex relationships. This was the first time in Irish law that gay relationships were given official recognition. This included pension rights, succession rights, maintenance obligations and protections in the event of domestic violence.

In May 2015 following a referendum, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. In voting overwhelmingly in favour of this referendum, the Irish people called on legislators to ensure that people in committed homosexual relationships had the all of the same entitlements as those in heterosexual relationships.

Despite this, the Fine Gael led Government has failed to commence parts 2 and 3 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015. These parts provide for parentage through donor-assisted human reproduction – and the issue of the recognition of parentage for same-sex couples.

The failure to commence these parts has a disproportionate impact on gay couples. For example, if two women have a child through donor assisted reproduction at present – only the woman who carries the child has any rights in relation to the child. Similarly, the child will have no rights (succession or otherwise) from the mother who did not carry the child in the womb. We are committed to address this unfair gap.